Wednesday’s storm arrived hours later than expected, sprinkled some flurries here and there and seemed like it might take its place in the annals as an epic bust.

Patience, forecasters counseled. The worst was yet to come. And it was, but even the worst never seemed to get very bad.

After futzing around all morning, the storm began in earnest around 11:30 a.m. Moments thereafter, the police scanners blew up with accident reports. Motorists got stuck on hills. Trees fell. Lights blinked off.

This called to mind the legend of Bob Peck, a rewrite man with the long-defunct New York Herald-Tribune who once rebelled against the wearying sameness of weather stories by filing one that read, in its entirety, “It snowed yesterday, with the usual results.”

PHOTO GALLERY: Scenes from around the Lehigh Valley as it dealt with snow from the second nor'easter to hit the area in less than a week.

Inquiring minds

News vans from Philadelphia were parked along Hamilton Street in Allentown early in the morning. One crew huddled disconsolately near the Soldiers and Sailors Monument before filing into the nearby Starbucks, where a barista interrogated them about the storm.

“How much is your station saying? I heard we’re only getting 5 inches.”

The reporter shook his head. Who could say? Already the flakes were slowing; already someone was talking about another heavy band on the way.

Insult to injury

Kathy Sandt was blocked by downed trees and power outages from working in her office at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in Bushkill, Pike County, where crews were still trying to clean up after last Friday’s powerful nor’easter.

That storm left behind damage reminiscent of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, said Sandt, who was manning the park’s communications department from a friend’s living room in Henryville.

A portion of Route 209 through the park remained closed to the public Wednesday afternoon. Employees haven’t had time to count how many trees fell.

“Visitors will be seeing a different park this spring,” she said.

‘Just a nuisance’

Routine and cravings brought a sprinkling of customers into the Turkey Hill in Pen Argyl on Route 512, the main road through the borough. It was one of the few open stores.

Bill Tonkin lives in the part of town that hugs the southern side of Blue Mountain, and walks to the store every day to get a newspaper — he likes to do the crossword puzzle.

When he crossed 512 shortly before noon, the road was black with an occasional car going by.

“I had no trouble getting across the road. Sometimes I have to wait a long time for the traffic,” said Tonkin, who celebrated his 73rd birthday Tuesday.

With a smile, he added, “To me, snow is just a nuisance.”

Another customer, Anne Wentzell of Pen Argyl, shrugged when told that the governor asked everyone to stay off the roads.

Get the milk and eggs

There was an early run on necessities at Hamilton Mall Family Center convenience store in Allentown, where Karen Menges manned the cash register Wednesday.

“They ran me out of eggs,” she said. “I still have some bread, a little bit of milk in the back cooler.”

Hamilton Mall was one of the few shops open Wednesday on Hamilton Street. Customers stopped in periodically to buy a few items and chat about the weather and the tasks they had to accomplish despite it.

Menges had a more conservative snowfall prediction than meteorologists, who at one point said the Lehigh Valley would see up to 18 inches of snow.

“If we get 8, we’ll be lucky,” she said.

But Menges would be happy to be proven wrong and see the flakes pile higher.

“I love the snow,” she said. “Are you kidding? Since I was a kid I’ve loved snow. I just like being out in it, shoveling, sleigh-riding.”

A shut-down town

Early Wednesday afternoon, Northampton had shut down almost entirely for a storm that hadn't quite arrived.

Many stores were closed, and most that were open weren't seeing much business. The Northampton Area School District announced a snow day early in the morning, but the Canal Street Park was empty, save for a squirrel scampering up a tree.

But at one of the few places open — Mario's Pizza on Main Street — a steady stream of customers brushed off snow before ordering.

In his 36 years at the store, co-owner John Aiello said they've only closed twice — the more recent time in January 2016, during the near-blizzard that dropped a record-smashing 32 inches.

“It's been pretty busy. If people can drive, we'll get the local people looking for lunch," Aiello said as the lunch hour began.

Bob Smith, bundled up in a Penn State jacket and a cigarette pursed in his mouth, shoveled his sidewalk off Route 329 around 1 p.m. Normally, the road would be brimming with traffic, but few drivers were on the road other than the borough's orange snow plows.

Smith lives on disability, and said he could only lift a few inches of snow. The storm’s not living up to expectations was just fine with him.

“I guess it's gone up north, thank God,” he said.

So far so good

In Bethlehem Township, plow operator Dave Febert said the roads mid-afternoon were in decent shape, considering the forecast.

“The problem is it’s heavy,” he said.

As he drove his truck through a development around 2 p.m., a thick slush coated the roads and along some hard surfaces, the snow had already melted.

Tim Darragh/The Morning Call

Plow operator Dave Febert gets to work in Bethlehem Township early Wednesday afternoon.

A snow day

Brenden Hackett's family took advantage of his day off from work at Martin Guitar to try a new lunch spot: Francisco's Salvadoreno Restaurant in Bethlehem.

The Lehigh Township resident offered up a plantain as he explained he and his wife, Shannon, always wanted to try the restaurant. They and their sons, Quinn, 5, and Keegan, 10, had to return books to the Bethlehem Area Public Library and decided to make the most of coming into town.

"We were surprised to have Daddy off, so we're taking advantage of it," Shannon Hackett said.